This film was a classic example of “the book being far better than the movie”. The book evokes for me a real sense of awe when realization dawns that the term “monster” is relative. The movie simply fails to do the same, which is unfortunate. As noted, the original ending at least tried to be true to the story and tested poorly with previewers. I think that’s the worst part of the situation. Apparently, modern culture would prefer a black and white view of the world rather than opening our minds to alternate viewpoints.